Happy Halloween & GO DAWGS!

If I had not spent the money on the girl's Oz gear, I think I would have them go trick-or-treating in their Georgia uniforms!

Go Dawgs -- BEAT those Gators!!

(Hey, stranger things have happened -- especially in college football!!)

And even Mommy & Daddy got into the Halloween spirit for a party last night . . . lookin' pretty good, if I do say so myself!!

Happy Halloween!

Favorite Photo Friday

It's been a long time for Favorite Photo Friday . . . so I thought I'd share some of the Halloween fun from the week. Both of these were taken at the girls preschool parties this week. I'm such a sucker for a preschool party. I'm totally the mom shooting a million pictures with my big a$$ camera and bulky flash. But I don't care. I get some adorable pictures of my girls.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Kate, Oct 29, 2009, Marietta GA

Meg (and boyfriend Jack), Oct 29, 2009, Marietta GA

The Great Nap Debate

It is on going, this Great Nap Debate. To nap or not to nap. That is the question.

Ugh. SO sick of that question. My life has seemingly revolved around those 6 words for 3 years, 4 months. Did she nap? Is she napping? Will she be awake in time? Did she fall asleep in the car? What time was her last nap? How long did she sleep? As the mother of 2 kids 3 and under, naps take up a lot of my thought process and my time.

We are on the brink of dropping Kate's morning nap all together. Occassionally she gets one, but about 5 days a week she goes without. I was quite a bit more anxious to have Kate drop that morning nap than I was for Meg to drop it . . . when I just had one kid, that morning naptime is when I showered, ate, read email, got ready for the day. Meg napped in the morning until sometime past 18 months old. But when it's your second child that is the morning napper, it's a bit harder. You get used to taking care of your out-of-the-house activities in the morning . . . but then baby #2 comes along, and you are house bound again from 9:00-10:30am. Anyway, Kate is doing fine with the lack of morning sleep. The only time she actually gets to rest is when we are home doing nothing and I take advantage of a little morning break. She'll only sleep an hour or so, then she's up and ready to go.

As usual, Kate is a piece of cake. She has transitioned easily and with no fuss.

The BIG nap debate around here is Meg. Ah, the big sister. She is showing many of the signs that she is ready to give up her afternoon nap, but I think I'm totally in denial. NO nap? That means no break from both girls in the middle of the day. That idea is very scary.

This has really been going on for over a month now, but . . . like I said . . . total denial. It started when I was noticed that Meg was staying up very late in her bed at night. We'd put her to bed at her usual 7:30-7:45pm, but she would still be awake in her bed at 9:00pm. She never cried or fussed . . . but she'd talk, sing, kick her wall, toss around. She was still WIDE awake. I knew something was up. Why was she staying up so late? And should I care -- since she wasn't bothering anyone?

I debated dropping the nap then. They say that late bed times are a big sign that the afternoon nap is no longer necessary. Jim suggested that I just late her stay up a little later in the evening in an effort to keep the serenity of the mid-day 'ME' time. That sounded like a much better idea to me. So, we adjusted our evenings, and Meg was allowed to say up until about 8:00-8:30pm. We tried it for a while, and it seemed to work out well.

Now, several weeks later, I'm noticing that Meg is sleeping very late. She's not getting up until after 8:00am, which makes it really tough to get her up and dressed and fed before we leave for preschool at 8:45am. (I'm here solo, mind you -- it's just me and the girls in the mornings, so it takes me a while to get everyone up and fed.) She is also taking her naps later and later in the day . . . which is just messing up scheduling all around.

And the naps are not what they once were, either. You could not tell from the Pumpkin Patch pictures, but getting Meg up and out the door for that adventure was a terrible experience. She'd taken a nap too late and did NOT want to wake up. Now I know how parents of teenagers must feel . . . when your kid dosen't want to get up, they will not get up. And there is little you can do. You can't yell at them -- well, not at a 3 yr old, anyway -- because it does nothing to help the situation. You can't physically get them up because they'll just fight you every step of the way. After a long battle to get out the door to the pumpkin patch, I said to Jim, "We would have been better off without a nap."

I've thought about that for 48 hours now. Is the nap really worth all of this? She's really trying to tell me she does not need the daytime sleep any more. Should I give in and work with her on dropping that nap?

Selfishly, I don't want to! I have to be home for an afternoon nap for Kate, anyway . . . and having Meg nap at the same time is so convenient. I worked very VERY hard to align their nap schedules so that I could have just a little break mid-day.

But why should I torture myself and Meg with a nap she doesn't want or need? The 'ME' time is not worth all the other hassles I'm getting . . . fights to get dressed for preschool, whining when she has to go to bed because she's not tired yet.

And so I decided today that I'd let Meg skip her nap. I'd try it. Tuesdays are Dance Class days, and we always try to squeeze the nap in . . . but I was not about to wake her up to go to Dance. Not after Sunday's horrors. I though today was a good day to test out letting her stay up all afternoon. Minus the nap, we went straight to Dance after baby sister woke up from her afternooon snooze. It all worked out perfectly . . . Meg enjoyed Dance and was not even that tough to deal with in the evening. She was in bed before 8pm tonight, and I know that she was OUT shortly after. The kid was pooped.

No nap really wasn't that big of a deal at all.

Does this mean that we are about to embark on a sea of days with no naps? Hours and hours of Meg in the afternoons? And what on EARTH do I do to keep her entertained (and out from in front of the TV) between 1pm and 3pm??

The Great Nap Debate continues . . .

Pumpkin Nostalgia

I can't help myself. Going through all of our pumpkin patch pictures from the weekend made me think back to our previous 3 years of pumpkin patch attendance. I can't believe how much our girls have grown -- or how much alike they are.

I hope you are up for a little pumpkin nostalgia . . .

My question to you: can you tell the difference between Meg and Kate in all of these? I can, but they are my girls. People keep telling me that Kate is really starting to look like Meg . . . I don't see it, but maybe you do.

And, finally, what a difference a year makes . . .

PS

The quality on that slideshow stunk, so link on over to our Picasa albums to get a better view of the pumpkin patch images.

Pumpkins 2009

Maybe I'll try Smilebox next time. Or . . . maybe I should stick with the old method of uploading a few of my favorites.

Yesterday was a Teaser

Don't really know what happened with the whole slideshow thing yesterday . . . so I had to start all over using my good old friend, Photoshop Elements. (Here is my promo for Photoshop Elements: I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to improve and spruce up your digital photographs.) Sorry for the mix up there.

Here is the real slideshow, complete with what I thought to be the perfect song for the show. I didn't bother editing any of these photos -- I don't have the time -- so they aren't my best work. Still, there are cute moments here that I am so happy to have captured.

To my friends out there that have one child and are expecting/just had baby # 2 -- THIS is what it's all about. The first year was tough, but look what we got as a reward for our work! Two of the sweetest, most in-love sisters ever. Having 2 kids takes some getting used to, but I'm learning quickly how wonderful having 2 can be.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We returned to our normal, busy life this weekend . . . complete with our annual pumpkin patch visit. This year was SO much fun with both girls. They had a blast, and so did we.

Trying a new video/slideshow thing . . . hope it works. Of course, what would the pumpkin patch be without my camera and matching pumpkin shirts?!

OK -- I know it doesn't work -- technical difficulties are being examined :)

Hawai'i

I don't really know where to start . . . so much to tell about our wonderful week away. I think I wrote about 5 different intros for this blog, but nothing seems quite right. It was such an awesome week, I just can't put it into words.

I guess I'll start with . . . Aloha -- we are back from our tropical vacation.


Jim and I had such a fabulous time experiencing the islands of Kauai and Oahu on our 'parents only' trip to the Pacific. We lounged. We sipped cocktails by the pool. We ate wonderful meals. We soaked up the sun. We went for lots of long drives. We tried to sleep in . . . but the 6 hour time change didn't really allow for that much. We did all kinds of things together that we had not done in what seemed like forever. It was amazing.


To sum in up into something you can read in about a 5-7 minute blog . . .

Friday -- traveled all day, arriving in Lihue, Kauai at 4:50pm their time, 10:50pm EST. We pushed through and stayed up as late as we could . . . which was only 9:00pm. We crashed early and loved sleeping in our great big bed as long as we wanted to.

Our view from our balcony in Kauai

Saturday -- we were up very early, 5am. We drove up to the east coast of Kauai and had breakfast. Off roaded out to a few beaches, just checking the place out. Back to the hotel, a quick change into swimsuits, then out to the pool/beach for the rest of the day. Dinner about an hour's drive from Lihue, up to Hannelai. Awesome seafood dinner, then back to bed kinda early. (The time change was really pretty brutal -- that plus a day of sun really wiped us out.)

On the beach bright and early Saturday morning

Our resort beach on Saturday afternoon

Sunset in Hanneleai

Sunday -- a (self guided) tour of the west coast of Kauai, including Waimeia Canyon. We off roaded again, but this time I was really scared we were going to get stuck. The road was really bad and very steep at times. Jim swore we'd be OK, so I gritted my teeth and trusted him. In the end, we were fine . . . but even JIM will tell you he was a little worried at times. We wrapped up our west side adventures and headed back to Lihue for our helicopter tour mid afternoon. The one hour tour by air was nothing short of unbelievable (and I couldn't help but think of our little garage sale as I boarded the tiny aircraft). After our day of touring, we went back to the pool for a few hours, then just stuck around the resort for dinner.

Waimeia Canyon (crazy) Road

View from the top of Waimeia Canyon rd -- complete with rainbow

View from my seat on the helicopter, viewing the Na'Pali Coast of Kauai


Monday -- We were going to go hiking on the north end of Kauai, but we decided instead to 'beach hop' all day. The hike we passed up was amazing when we saw it from the air . . . and we really wanted to do it . . . but there just wasn't enough time to do it all. I voted for a day of beaches and shopping, and Jim was willing to oblige. We went to a few beaches and really got a kick out of watching people surf and jump off of crazy-high rocks at the edge of the ocean. Monday night was our Luau experience -- which we loved. It was a perfect mix of authentic (delicious) Hawaiian foods and amazing dancing. Our luau totally rocked.

Shipwreck Beach -- YES, we saw several people jump!

At the luau with Jim -- see how tan he got on our vacation?

Ok, seriously . . . a self portrait at the luau

Tuesday -- up early (which was still not a problem, even 3 days into the trip), the off to fly Hawaiian Airlines over to Honolulu. Moving from a 'country' island like Kauai to the big city that is Honolulu was quite a change. Honolulu reminded me a lot of LA . . . big buildings, high end shopping, and the beach right across the street from it all. We stayed in a huge and fantastic resort right at the end of Waikiki beach, which was not only a cool resort but a perfect location. On that day we arrived, an old friend of mine that now lives in Honolulu met up with Jim and I, and we walked all the way down Waikiki with her. We spent some more quality time at the pool, then we showered and had a great dinner with my friend and her family. We even managed to cram a little shopping in when we returned to the resort . . . by Tuesday we were finally adjusting to the time change and found ourselves able to stay up past 10pm.
At the end of Waikiki Beach (you know you wanted to see me in a bathing suit, admit it.)


Wednesday -- up early, off to the North Shore. We ate lunch at a shrimp truck about 2/3 of the way North. We parked ourselves on a couple of beaches and watched the most amazingly HUGE waves crash in front of us. We ate ice cream and walked through some touristy shops at the northern most town, then we went through the inner island back to our resort. We showered and then walked through the strip down Waikiki. We finally stopped for dinner well after 9pm . . . and somehow I ended up singing Karaoke after we ate.
Sunrise over Waikiki from our hotel room


Thursday -- our last day. We got up early and were some of the first in line to see the Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial. This is something that I would say is a CAN'T MISS in Honolulu -- I'm so very happy that we were able to see this on our trip. The National Parks representatives command a lot of respect for the memorial, as it is not only an "attraction" but also the final resting place for over 800 of the 11oo men that died there on Dec 7, 1941. It was really a sight to been see and experienced. Because our red eye left that afternoon, the rest of the day we spent at our resort . . . I was hoping for some last minute sun, but our daily rainfall came mid-morning, meaning that I was not really able to sit out by the pool for long. It didn't really matter . . . we just showered and headed to the airport. At this point in the trip, I was getting really ready to see the girls again. I missed them every day, and knowing we were heading home that night just made me miss them more on Thursday. At 4pm in Hawaii (10pm at home), we boarded our 9 hour flight and traveled back to Atlanta.

On the USS Arizona Memorial


I know I didn't include a whole lot of detail in my description of our week away . . . but that is because I just can't put into words how wonderful everything was. I've already used the words 'awesome' and 'amazing' and 'wonderful' waaaayyy more times than I'd like in this blog, but that is simply because I can't think of any other words to use to convey the fantastic trip we took.


We rented a Jeep Wrangler on both islands so we could enjoy Hawaii with the windows and top down all week. Jim body surfed on Shipwreck Beach in Kauai and cut up his elbow pretty good. There were chickens all over Kauai . . . a result of a 1992 hurricane that displaced the chickens from the farms and left them wild all over the island. It rained every day, but never for long and it didn't ruin a thing. I got a lot of sun -- and my Hawaiian tan is probably my favorite souvenir from the trip. I ate a lot of fish. We bought the girlst Tshirts, Leis, and two Disney Princess dolls with leis and flowers in their hair.


Not only was the place we visited so breathtaking, but just having a week together -- me and Jim -- was totally priceless. We really enjoyed being away from everything. I think we needed it -- I mean, don't we all? We need time as a couple to recharge and reconnect, and Hawaii was perfect for that.


I missed the hell out of the girls. Everything reminded us of them . . . and countless times we were sad they weren't there to experience it with us. According to my dad, that is the way we will feel when we go anywhere without them for the rest of our lives. They would have loved our resort pools and the ocean, and they would have had so much fun at the luau. But they would have hated the looong travel and the vicious jet lag from the trip . . . so they won't be making a Hawaii journey until they are much, much older. And besides -- Mommy and Daddy need a place to retreat once in a while.



Hawaii was really very cool. If you haven't gone, put it at the top of your list. We are already talking about when we can go back. It's a piece of paradise, and it was an awesome place to visit.



We returned to life just as we'd left it . . . neighborhood parties, Halloween, preschool, a trip to the pumpkin patch. The girls had a great week at home with my dad, Nana, and Papa. They went about life as usual while Mom and Dad were away with no complaints at all (from what we heard). It was so nice to be away from our life for a little while, and now that we are back I think the time away helped me appreciate our life a little more. My wonderful girls, my perfect husband. We are a long way from Hawaii, but I think our house is a little piece of paradise right here in Marietta.



I have toooooo many pictures to share, so link on over here to our Picasa album if you are interested . . . I've used the captions to narrate our trip. Enjoy. . . and Mahalo for reading!

Hawaii 2009

A Post from LAX

Hello from sunny California. Oh, didn't I mention that Jim and I were going to Hawaii for the week? That we were leaving today?

I didn't?

Well, I didn't forget to mention it . . . I guess that the week of preparation for our trip just got away from me. You know me . . . whenever we prepare for a vacation, I always get stressed and go above and beyond 'normal' vacation prep. This time was different -- no KIDS coming along, so no kid packing to be done. The girls are staying home at our house with the grandparents, so I only needed to prepare THEM for what they'd be doing this week. And clean up my house so that my mother-in-law doesn't think I'm a terrible housekeeper when she shows up. And let everyone know who needs to be where and when they need to be there . . . and get medical release forms updated (including our Will) . . . and grocery shop. And get waxed so I'd be appropriate in a bathing suit (wink wink). And throw some stuff in a bag for myself for our week away.

Like I said, I always stress myself out just getting to a vacation.

But as of last night when we put Meg and Kate to bed, Jim and I were officially ON VACATION. All the prep was done. We were up and out of the house well before the girls . . . so we did our good-byes last night. Jim and I left Atlanta early this morning, and now we are waiting our connecting flight to Kauai here at the Delta Crown Room in Los Angeles.

A WEEK IN HAWAII. Jim and me. It's going to be awesome.

All week long -- as I prepared and prepared for what would go on in Georgia while we were gone -- I kept thinking, "Am I even going to be sad to leave the girls? Will I even miss them for the first few days?" I'm just so excited to spend some true adult time with my husband . . . I wasn't sure how I'd really feel about leaving Meg and Kate. The idea of laying on the beach with a drink in my hand clouded my ability to consider how hard it might be to leave my kids behind. I thought I would be able to leave with no problems . . . even though this is the first time I've left Kate, I've never left Meg for this long, and we will be farther away from them than we've ever been before. I wondered if it might be too easy for me.

The reality: when I put them to be last night, I couldn't get enough 'good bye' hugs or kisses. I think I started missing them at naptime yesterday -- and we hadn't even left yet. I had to wake Meg up briefly this morning to say bye just one more time. I had to watch Kate sleep for just a few more minutes before we threw our bags in the car and headed to the airport. We've been gone for about 6 hours now, and I miss everything about them already.

Don't worry -- I won't spend my week worrying about my girls or wishing I was home. They are in GREAT hands with both my dad and Jim's parents. Their plans are made and all the instructions are left for everyone . . . I think that they are going to have a great week without us.

And will will have a great week without them. We don't have a lot of plans for our time in Hawaii . . . just the aforementioned helicopter tour, a hike or two, and lots of time on the beach. By 11pm tonight (EST -- about 5pm Hawaii time), we will be at our hotel in Kauai, ready to start our vacation.

Aloha . . . we are now boarding our flight to Hawaii. Next stop: Paradise!

Independence

Kate has decided that she wants to eat by herself. If she could talk, I think our meals would start with, "Leave me alone, Mom. I can do this all by myself . . . I'll just watch Meg and do what she does."

Meals are messy. They take forever. Food is everywhere . . . the high chair, on Kate, on the window, on the table. But Kate is learning to eat with utensils and feed herself . . . one heaping spoonful at a time.

Meg has decided that she wants to dress herself . . . not only the physical act of dressing, but she also wants to be an integral part in selecting what she's going to wear.

Some days are better that others.

It started with jammies . . . she wanted to pick them out, so for months we've been wearing horribly mis-matched pajamas to bed. Then she wanted to pick her clothes . . . and I have had to learn how to 'cope' with that. (There are still times mommy gets to pick out the clothing . . . and Meg just has to deal with it.) Most recently, Meg wants to actually put the clothes on herself -- and for that I am excited. It takes forever for her to dress, but it's so worth it. I dream of a day in the near future when she can just run to her room and come back all dressed and ready for the day. How lovely that will be.

Today, Meg proudly wore her Halloween shirt to preschool . . . with the neck hole so stretched out, it looked like a boat-neck Tshirt. When I asked, "Did you have trouble getting your shirt on over your head?" Meg replied, "Yeah. I haded (had-ed) to put my arms through the neck hole. It didn't work. I got all twisted, so I just took it off and started over."

My children are becoming more and more independent every day. I am one proud mommy.

I Feel Behind

There have been so many things going on that I've wanted to blog about in the past few weeks . . . but the water in the basement followed by the stomach flu have kept me from blogging the way I'd like. I've started about 5 blogs about random things . . . but I have not gotten around to finishing or posting those blogs because more important things have come up. I think of interesting, enlightening topics all the time . . . but lately they have not made it from my brain to the blog.

I feel behind.

But don't we always feel that way? About nearly everything?

It takes some getting used to, this constant feeling of never being able to keep up. Just part of being a grown up, really. This blog is only ONE thing that I feel is constantly on my list of things that I'm behind on . . . lately I've also felt behind on grocery shopping, laundry, returning emails/phone calls, and editing portraits (of my OWN family). And many, many other things as well. I always feel behind on something. That's just the way it is.

Occasionally, I might kid myself and think that I'm getting a handle on everything. And just when I think I might actually feel like I am catching up, something always happens to throw me off. For example, I had JUST thought to myself that things were getting back to 'normal' after all of my father's cancer procedures this spring when my mother dropped dead in July. I cursed myself for even thinking that I was getting caught up on my life . . . but I think that experience helped me realize that I will always live in a perpetual state of being behind. There will always be something that needs doing. That is just life.

I can harp on it, waste time, and get more behind . . . or I can just do what I can when I can, and know that everything that needs doing will eventually get done.

Oh -- and then there are the things you want to do vs. the things you have to do. You can do a thing from the 'want' list and have fun doing it . . . but then something on the 'have' list rears it's ugly head, and once again you feel like you are playing catch up. It's a game I play with myself . . . rewarding myself with 'fun' activities and paying for it later by feeling behind on other things. Don't we all play that game? I think we have to because if we never took time out to enjoy something just for ourselves, we would most certainly drive ourselves batty.

Anyway, I'm feeling behind this Sunday. I feel behind a lot. Instead of a bullet pointed list of all the stuff I wish I had blogged about in the last couple of weeks, I think I'll just post this one about always feeling behind . . . and I'll let the rest go.

Now I can cross one more thing off my list. (The 'want to' list, that is . . . I have a dishwasher full of clean dishes in the kitchen that are screaming at me from my 'have to' list.)

A Helicopter Flight in Hawaii

Today was the community Garage Sale. The big event that we'd worked for about 3 weeks to prepare for; the big garage sale that was going to rid us of all of our junk. Jim and I both have been excited about this garage sale for quite some time. It was going to be a big Saturday at the Dahlby's.

The only thing that could spoil it: Rain.

And what, of course, was the forecast for this morning? Rain.

I was just about to start asking, "Am I EVER going to catch a break?" . . . when the rain decided to hold off today and let us have our Garage Sale in peace. A big shout out to Mother Nature -- we appreciate your cooperation today.

Thanks to the good weather (and Jim's diligent selling efforts), we sold a ton of our junk . . . from shoes to spice racks to strollers. So much junk. I was astounded at some of the stuff that actually sold, it was so junky. But sell it did. From about 8:00am till noon we had very steady traffic, and the sales (and haggling) were coming left and right. It was pretty happening in our driveway as the sun came up this Saturday.

You know what else astounded me? The stuff that didn't sell. We had a nice, big TV for sale -- and we thought certainly someone would buy it for $50. Nope. And I had a bunch of very standard, cream colored curtain panels for sale that are still sitting in our garage this evening. And a nice, over sized mirror (with a gold frame, unfortunately) did not sell for a measly $15. Humph. Guess some my junk is still junk in other people's eyes, too.

Yesterday, as we prepare for our Hawaiian vacation later this week, I bought a travel book that several friends had recommended we take along with us. And in that book, we were sad to learn that a helicopter flight on Kauai is about $400 per couple. Ouch. It's one of the things we really, really want to do on our vacation . . . but the $400 price tag sure has made us think twice about how badly we really, really want to do it.

This morning I jokingly said, "Hey, if we make $400, there is our helicopter flight in Hawaii!" I didn't think for a minute we'd come close to that kind of Garage Sale profit.

I'm here to say: we will be taking a helicopter flight in Hawaii. All of our hard work paid off, and the Garage Sale was a big success. It was fun and functional -- totally worth the effort. And maybe a week from today, I'll be thinking of our Saturday morning sale as we tour one of the Hawaiian Islands by air.

Look Who is Feeling Better

Finally! Hooray! She woke up this morning and was all smiles . . . downed a piece of toast and half a banana, then went about her day.

Last night, as I rocked her all the way to sleep, hot tears stung my eyes while I said a quick prayer to help her feel better. I think it must have been answered because Kate is so much better today. Thank God.

Back to the Pediatrician

They swear it's only a virus.

Kate was so lethargic this morning, I had to take her back to the doctor. When I sat her down next to a basket of toys and she proceeded to simply lay down next to it, I knew we were not well yet.

They gave her a good exam . . . and they stand firm that only time will make her feel better. No bowel obstruction (thank goodness). No need for blood work since it is only stomach problems with no fever. Really, there is nothing anyone can do for her.

She is just pitiful today . . . the most pitiful I think she's been so far. I think this is the sickest kid I've had to date. I shipped Meg home with my dad, and Kate and I have just sat together pretty much all day long. I only have a few minutes to blog while she sleeps . . . she has had my 100% attention since she woke up this morning. As I type, her monitor is RIGHT next to me . . . I feel like I'm on 'high alert' because I literally jump every time she makes even the slightest sound.

The good news: no puking today. The bad news: now Kate is refusing to eat. She'll drink -- and she's not dehydrated -- but now she won't even eat a cracker (a typical fav of hers).

I hate this. I think I speak for every, single parent out there when I say: there is nothing in the worse in the world than having a sick child.

After Days and Days . . .

of taking care of sick children, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Ugh. It was SO bad, I had to share it.


Please, please let Kate feel better tomorrow. She ralphed 3 times this morning before I could get the Zofran in her, and that helped to at least stop the vomiting. The rest of the day she walked around like a mini ticking timebomb . . . I was just waiting for her to start up again. Thankfully, she didn't.

Another fitful night of sleep for mommy . . . I can never sleep when they are sick like this. The slightest noise wakes me up and sending me hurdling down the hall to their bedrooms. Then back to my bed, more tossing and turning, and then finally morning comes. After a week of this, I'm pretty exhausted.

And Jim is already gone. Left this morning about 1 hour after Kate's latest episode started. Being here alone with two sick kids is scary. What if I need to go to the ER again? What if they both start up? What if -- God forbid -- I get sick again? I can handle being alone . . . that I am used to . . . but when the girls are sick it's a whole different ball game. I hate it. I hate them being sick, and I hate being here by myself to combat it.

I think I can will them well , right? Tomorrow they WILL be well. They will! I won't let it be any other way! (Hey, it's worth a try.)

If you have any tricks up your sleeve that might help me get through this, do tell. I'm desperate at this point. Or, if you just have a prayer to spare, send it our way. We need it to help us kick whatever it is that has taken over our house.